The Torch of Perpetual Guidance, an Exposé on Ziyarat Ashura of al-Imam al-Husayn b. Ali

Section Four

يَا أَبا عَبْدِ اللّهِ، لَقَدْ عَظُمَتِ الرَّزِيَّةُ وَجَلَّتْ وَعَظُمَتِ الْمُصِيبَةُ بِكَ عَلَيْنا وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أَهْلِ الإِسْلامِ، وَجَلَّتْ وَعَظُمَتْ مُصِيبَتُكَ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ عَلَى جَمِيعِ أَهْلِ السَّمَاوَاتِ

“O’ Aba ‘Abdillah! Surely the tribulations are great and unbearable and your tragedy is great for us, and for all the people of Islam and unbearable and great is your tragedy in the heavens and for all of the dwellers of the heavens.”

In this section of the Ziyarat, we address our Imam directly and recall the tragedies which befell him and our grief and remorse at what occurred on the plains of Karbala’.

The historians have stated that from the first day of creation until the Resurrection comes, the tribulations which Imam Husayn faced are the greatest and most severe – and there is no other historical event which comes close to what he went through. However, why such an emphasis on recalling this tragedy in this particular way and with such words?

The late scholar, Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari has written that, “Once, I sat down and tried to count the number of reasons why this event was so unbearable and I was able to come up with around twenty-one reasons and I do not think that there is any other single event in this world which could compare to this injustice...”

When we study the event of Karbala’ we see that no one was spared – the infant child, the young adults, the grown men, the elderly and even the women of the camp! Not only were they murdered in cold blood, but even after their death, they were not shown respect and this is evident from the trampling of their bodies by the horses and their decapitation and parading through the streets of Kufah and Shaam (Syria)!

In addition, we read in the Ziyarat that this is a tribulation that not only the people of the Earth feel grief and cry about, but even the Angels in the Heavens express remorse about! In this regards, we have numerous hadith, however suffices us to quote the following from the 6th Imam, Ja’far b. Muhammad as-Sadiq where he has said, “What is wrong with you that you do not go (to the Ziyarat of the grave of al-Husayn)? Surely 40,000 Angels are at his grave, crying, until the Day of Resurrection.”